Solar Finance in Australia: Rates, BNPL, Real Paybacks
Imraan Thanawalla, founder of Solaris Finance, runs a specialist brokerage focused on residential, commercial and stock finance for the solar industry. He also created Solar Nerds (free installation statistics, dashboards and CPD content) and Solaris Recruit (offshore staffing for solar businesses).
“0% interest” explained: why that $8,000 system becomes $9,500
Those “no-interest” offers aren’t charity. In most cases, the merchant fee is loaded into the system price. You’re paying 0% on an inflated principal. Repayments often look similar to a standard loan because the “interest” has been priced in up front.
Key point: Compare the cash price vs financed price, not just the interest rate.
BNPL is now regulated—here’s what actually changed
BNPL for solar moved from unregulated to regulated in 2024–2025. But:
Lenders may still rely on self-declared income if they “reasonably believe it’s substantially correct.”
Regulation scales with loan size and risk. There’s a $2,000 threshold: smaller purchases face lighter checks; larger solar/battery buys face tighter checks.
Some providers still “skirt the edges”—but green loans (fully regulated personal/equipment loans) avoid most of the compliance grey areas.
Solaris Finance’s stance: They operate in the fully regulated space and avoid BNPL-style pitfalls.
Current market rates mentioned in the show
Residential green loan: ~6.54% (at time of recording).
Commercial: ~8.69% (at time of recording).
Why can residential be cheaper than commercial? Banks discount “green” residential more heavily (book-building + ESG goals). Also, solar is considered a tertiary asset (weak repossession/resale value), but the “green” factor pulls rates down on the residential side.
Note: Rates move. Treat these as illustrative based on the conversation.
The smarter way to finance: design for cash-flow positive
Yes, you could redraw against your mortgage at a lower percentage, but you’ll likely pay more dollars over 30 years. Green loans typically run 5–10 years and are easier to keep honest from a budgeting perspective.
How Solaris demonstrates this:
A calculator + chart comparing today’s bill vs (new bill + finance repayment). If the second bar is lower, you’re cash-flow positive from day one.
- Commercial advantage: Businesses consume power in the middle of the day, so their self-consumption is high and paybacks are typically faster.
Quality first: products, installers and the “what if it fails?” question
Finance doesn’t protect you from poor installs. If the system fails and you stop paying, you risk a credit default—and finance companies talk to each other. A default from a financier is the worst mark to have on your file.
Solaris’ mitigation:
Partner only with installers who meet quality thresholds.
Avoid certain hardware with poor track records.
Focus on the installer even more than the badge on the box.
Applications & onboarding: What the retailer and customer actually do
Vendors/Installers:
Fill a short accreditation form → receive portal access → track deals.
Residential applications (regulated):
Customer must enter their own details via a unique link.
All online; lender receives data directly from the customer.
Commercial applications (unregulated):
More flexible: vendor can assist or Solaris can assemble the application.
Fast approvals for low-doc no-financials up to around $300k.
Above ~$300k, most financiers require full financials—at that point, price becomes commodity and big-four banks often compete.
Arrears & defaults: what really happens
Collections escalate in 30-day buckets (0–30 / 30–60 / 60–90 / 90+).
Repossession of rooftop solar is rare (costly, little resale value).
The bigger stick is a credit default—a major barrier to future finance.
Why Solar Nerds matters (and why it’s free)
Solar Nerds is the “pull” engine: free REC-based install stats, dashboards, CPD content, and conference presence. Instead of hiring a local sales army, Solaris uses content + data to earn trust—then finance follows.
“Provide value first. If people only want the data or a T-shirt, that’s fine.” —Imraan
Solaris Recruit: Offshore roles and the Fair Work risk most people miss
Solaris Recruit helps Australian solar companies hire offshore (Philippines/Vietnam/India) for tasks like admin, design and reconciliation.
The catch most miss: A recent case suggests some offshore workers may still claim Australian employment protections (e.g., minimum wages, unfair dismissal) if engaged by Aussie companies in certain ways.
Solaris’ approach: They’ve structured their service and contracts (with legal advice) to absorb that risk at their level—so it doesn’t sit on the installer’s books.
Who should consider Solaris Finance?
Residential retailers who want the cleanest, regulated path (no BNPL headaches).
Commercial retailers who need fast, low-doc approvals under ~$300k.
Teams that want cash-flow-positive proposals, simple digital workflows, and a finance partner that filters for installer quality.
